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The screw is being tightened on the monsters taking over homes of disabled, elderly and vulnerable people to use as bases in Cambridge.

A task force has been formed to smash the London and Birmingham gang members taking over the homes of vulnerable drug addicts in Cambridge.

The thugs use violence, blackmail and intimidation to turn flats into their base to push heroin and crack cocaine in the city - called 'cuckooing'.

One of these was Maruf Miah, 20, of Long Street, Birmingham, who has been jailed for seven years after being found guilty of two charges of possession with the intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin.

Miah was found in a flat in Cambridge which was being used by 'county lines' dealers in a process known as cuckooing.

Maruf Miah

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Another from London, Emanuel Olliviere, 19, of City Road, Hackney, pleaded guilty to four counts of being concerned in supplying a controlled drug of class A to another at Cambridge Crown Court and was jailed for four and a half years.

Emanuel Olliviere - deodorant can and drugs

The court heard how Olliviere was found in Chesterton Road, Cambridge, on December 13, 2016, in a vulnerable drug user's flat. He had moved himself into the address to deal crack and heroin.

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Now a task force has been formed by Cambridge City Council’s Safer Communities team working alongside Cambridgeshire police to end the cruel criminals’ reign over homes in the city.

Lynda Kilkelly, Safer Communities manager told the News: “At any given time we have a number of multi-agency task and finish groups who look at specific problems, working together to find the best solutions.

“This group is discussing the best ways to help vulnerable people who are being targeted by others and are having their homes used for activities such as drug using or drug dealing.

“The usual enforcement tools that are available are not necessarily appropriate when a vulnerable person is involved and therefore the group is finding other measures to address the problem, including support.

“They are also looking at measures used elsewhere and researching what might work best in Cambridge.

“The group is part of the wider approach to ‘county lines’ issues.”

The National Crime Agency (NCA) recently revealed that thousands of children are being groomed to work as drug mules by dealers exploiting vulnerable people across the country in a criminal enterprise known as 'county lines'.

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Once gangs move into a target area, they use “cuckooing” to set up bases in homes.

They use vulnerable adults including class A drug addicts, elderly people, disabled people and those with mental health issues, the report said.

London is the biggest source of known county lines, as home to at least 283 gangs.

A Cambridge City Council report said: "Cross-county lines gangs pose a significant threat to vulnerable adults upon whom they rely to conduct and/or facilitate criminality and there is a growing county-wide concern around the exploitation of vulnerable people via gang association.

"A particular concern for across-county-line gang activity is the exploitation of vulnerable individuals through ‘cuckooing', whereby gangs establish bases for criminal activity, often drug dealing, by taking over the homes of vulnerable people (often drug users) by force or coercion.

"Gang-related violence has been reported by the Youth Offending Service, the police and localities, and young people at risk of gang and other exploitation have been identified.

"The Local Safeguarding Childrens Board (LSCB) has adopted gang-related exploitation involving children as a work stream, which highlights that this is an area of ongoing concern."